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Royals agree to terms with several Draft picks

The Royals select left-handed pitcher Foster Griffin with the 28th pick of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft

By Dick Kaegel
/
MLB.com |

KANSAS CITY -- Left-handed pitcher Foster Griffin, who was a first-round pick in the First-Year Player Draft on Thursday, has signed with the Royals for $1.925 million, MLB.com has learned.

His value as the 28th overall pick was slotted at $1.815 million so the Royals went $109,500 over value. They had a total of $8,602,900 allocated by Major League Baseball to be used among their top 10 selections.

Griffin, from Orlando, Fla., pitched for First Academy High School and was a strike thrower who had a fastball clocked at up to 94 mph with a plus breaking ball and changeup.

He ranked 28th among the Top 200 Prospects by MLB.com

MLB.com also learned the Royals signed catcher Chase Vallot, their third selection and the 40th overall in the Competitive Balance Round A, for $1.35 million. That was $70,800 under his pick value of $1,420,800.

A right-handed hitter from St. Thomas More High School in Lafayette, La., Vallot is projected as having middle-of-the-order power. Just 17, he was ranked No. 49 in MLB.com's Top 200 Prospects.

Griffin had a commitment to play at the University of Mississippi and Vallot at Mississippi State.

The Royals also signed left-handed pitcher Eric Skoglund, their third round pick (92nd overall), for $516,100 which was the allotted figure for that slot. Skoglund pitched for Sarasota (Fla.) High School and the University of Central Florida.